3. Improper questioning
¶ 118 During the prosecutor’s direct examination of witnesses, Payne objected to several questions as leading or assuming facts not in evidence. He asserts, with little analysis, that the prosecution’s questioning violated his due process rights, deprived him of a fair trial, and constituted prosecutorial misconduct. We ordinarily begin by reviewing the trial court’s ruling on the objections for abuse of discretion. See State v. (Joseph W.) King, 66 Ariz. 42, 49, 182 P.2d 915, 919 (1947). But Payne does not analyze the questions individually, instead suggesting a pattern of prosecutorial misconduct that denied him due process. Thus, we analyze this line of questioning as a whole.
¶ 119 Leading questions suggest an answer. State v. Simoneau, 98 Ariz. 2, 5, 401 P.2d 404, 407 (1965). Ordinarily, courts should not permit leading questions on direct examination, Ariz. R. Evid. 611(e), although such questions may be permitted when doing so will serve “the ends of justice,” Joseph W. King, 66 Ariz. at 49, 182 P.2d at 919. No error occurs, however, when the answer suggested “had already been received as the result of proper questioning.” State v. Garcia, 141 Ariz. 97, 101, 685 P.2d 734, 738 (1984).
¶ 120 The questions that Payne complains of here took various forms. Some were leading; others, although not leading, suggested facts not in evidence. But the facts assumed in these questions could have been, and many were, elicited through proper questioning or were otherwise inconsequential. Other questions were not improper for any reason Payne raises on appeal. Payne presented no evidence that the prosecutor deliberately misframed questions, and many of Payne’s objections were sustained, after which the prosecutor rephrased the question. Furthermore, the trial court instructed the jurors not to consider responses to any question for which it had sustained an objection. The trial court sustained several objections and issued curative instructions. We assume the jurors followed those instructions, see State v. Prince, 204 Ariz. 156, 158 ¶ 9, 61 P.3d 450, 452 (2003), and did not consider the questions to which objections were sustained. In light of these circumstances, and in the absence of any showing of intentional misconduct, no reversible error occurred.
4. ASPD “diagnosis” in penalty phase
¶ 121 In the mitigation portion of the trial, Payne called Dr. Thomas Reidy to testify that Payne had risk factors for irregular psychological development, which might have made him more apt to abuse children. Payne claims that, on cross-examination, the State improperly elicited a diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder (“ASPD”) from Dr. Reidy.
¶ 122 To prepare to testify, Dr. Reidy reviewed records and transcripts of interviews, but he did not evaluate Payne or interview anyone familiar with him. After Payne’s direct examination of Dr. Reidy, the trial court denied Payne’s objection to the State questioning Dr. Reidy about the criteria for ASPD or whether Payne met these criteria. The court, however, warned the State not to reference a “diagnosis” of ASPD. On cross-examination, the State asked Dr. Reidy whether Payne satisfied the criteria for ASPD to prove an alternative explanation for Payne’s behavior.
¶ 123 The prosecution may introduce any evidence in the penalty phase “that is relevant to any of the mitigating circumstances ..., regardless of its admissibility under the rules governing admission of evidence at criminal trials.” A.R.S. § 13-751(C); see also State v. VanWinkle, 230 Ariz. 387, 394 ¶ 28, 285 P.3d 308, 315 (2012). prosecutor’s questioning here rebutted Payne’s claims that he had a number of risk factors for being an abusive parent, which might have caused him to be abusive, by showing alternative explanations for Payne’s conduct.
¶ 124 Payne relies on State v. Lundstrom, 161 Ariz. 141, 146, 776 P.2d 1067, 1072 (1989), and State v. Moody, 208 Ariz. 424, 461-62 ¶¶ 157-64, 94 P.3d 1119, 1156-57 (2004), for the proposition that the prosecution may not elicit a diagnosis that is not in evidence. Payne’s reliance is misplaced. In Lundstrom, we held it improper for experts to testify to “facts or data” if merely acting “as